The Adventures of Pete
The Adventures of Pete & Pete was an American television series about two brothers named Pete which aired on the Nickelodeon cable channel. Most recently it was found on the Noggin cable network for teen programming but has since been dropped. A two-disc DVD set containing the series' first season was released on May 17, 2005. Origins The show was created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi and began as one-minute shorts in 1989 that were shown in between regular programs. Owing to the popularity of the shorts, five half-hour specials were made, followed by a regular half-hour series that ran for three seasons (1993-1996) and continued in reruns until around 1998. Setting The show featured many humorous and surreal elements both in its narrative and its recurring themes. It was set in the fictional town of Wellsville and originally filmed in Leonia, New Jersey (school scenes) and South Orange, New Jersey (neighborhood scenes). In the third season filming was moved to Cranford, New Jersey. Characters * older Pete Wrigley (Mike Maronna) serves as the narrator of each episode (except for "New Year's Pete"), often acting as a voice of reason in contrast to the strange happenings and people around him. * younger Pete Wrigley (Danny Tamberelli), who is four years younger than the other Pete, is often engaged in struggles against adults and other types of authority. He frequently uses insults like "blowhole" and "dill weed" — since Pete & Pete was a children's show, actual swear words could not be used. Younger Pete has a tattoo named Petunia on his arm; how he got the tattoo is not clear. * Ellen Hickle (Alison Fanelli) is older Pete's best friend; on rare occasion a romance develops between Pete and Ellen, but normally Pete sees Ellen as "a girl and a friend, but not a girlfriend". At one point she labored under the misconception that she was "a dot." * Joyce Wrigley (Judy Grafe), more often simply called "Mom," is the Petes' mother. She has a metal plate in her head from an accident when she was a child. The metal plate can pick up radio stations — and, in the case of Little Pete's "WART radio," it can broadcast them too. * Don Wrigley (Hardy Rawls), better known as "Dad," is the Petes' father. He met Joyce when using a metal detector on a beach led him to the metal plate in her head. * Artie, the Strongest Man in the World (Toby Huss), is younger Pete's personal superhero. At first he acted as an imaginary friend of Little Pete, but later began interacting with other characters. He is very eccentric but quite powerful — for example, he can skip stones on Neptune and hit a golf ball 300,003 feet. His catch phrase is "Artie — the strongest man (pause) in the world!" * Stu Benedict (Damian Young) is the eccentric and occasionally manic-depressive bus driver who drives both Petes to school. His character served as a replacement for Artie after Toby Huss left the show. * Nona F. Mecklenberg (Michelle Trachtenberg), younger Pete's best friend. The F in her name stands for Francis, but she wants to change it to Frank, Farfignuten, or Forklift. She wears a cast, not because she has a broken arm, but because she likes the itchy feeling it gives her. * Monica (Maris Hudson), One of younger Pete's friends, the resident Krebscout who is always ready for anything. * "Endless" Mike Hellstrom (Rick Gomez), Older Pete's mortal enemy. He is endlessly repeating the same year in highschool, and endlessly beating up on Pete. He reigns over shop class, has a car, and loves neopolitan ice cream. * Fran 'Pit Stain' (Eric Kushnick), Younger Pete's mortal enemy with a gland problem that gives him huge, smelly pit stains. He is often seen with his goons Hairnet and Drawstring. Guest stars and music The many guest stars that appeared on Pete & Pete include Selma Blair, Steve Buscemi, LL Cool J, Chris Elliott, Janeane Garofalo, Frank Gifford, Debbie Harry, Patty Hearst, David Johansen (Buster Poindexter), Luscious Jackson, John McLaughlin, Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe, Liza Weil, William Hickey, Kate Pierson and Adam West. Hunter S. Thompson is often wrongly credited for an appearance in the episode "New Year's Pete." The show featured music by such independent artists as Luscious Jackson, The Magnetic Fields, RACECAR, and The Apples in Stereo. Polaris, a side project of Mark Mulcahy's Miracle Legion, served as the show's "house band," providing the theme song and many other tunes heard throughout the series and even appearing in "Hard Day's Pete" as a local four-piece playing out of a garage. Some of the Polaris' music from the show was released as a CD, Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete, including the theme song "Hey Sandy". Content "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" is unique amongst contemporary children's television series in that it is an abstract and rather absurd portrayal of everyday suburban life in the United States. The antics of the two brothers of the same name and their various friends and enemies are ludicrous in nature, but it is often easy to identify with the potent suburban truths stated in the narrations of Older Pete. Upon paying careful attention to each episode, it is easy to pick out dozens of obscure cultural references, strange little truths of life, and other oddities that do not appear in other series. This has made the show, which only aired as a weekly series for 3 seasons, a lasting classic amongst the children of the early nineties. Incredible demand for the show has prompted Nickelodeon to release the first season in DVD format. Although Pete & Pete was a children's show aired on a children's network, many of the jokes and allusions were lost on the younger generation. It is not to say that some subject matter was mature, but simply that many referential antecedents fall outside of the target audience's experience. Some such allusions include: *''Citizen Kane'' - Little Pete drops the snow globe in "Sick Day" *''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' - Possibly a minor influence in "Sick Day" *Jimmy Hoffa - While digging a tunnel out of his house, Little Pete finds a wallet and reads the name inside: "Hoffa!" he says. Peculiarly, almost every product mentioned on the show was manufactured by KrebStar products -- if someone on the show were to have some coffee they would drink "Kreb Full o' Nuts Coffee", their underwear would be "Kreb of the Loom", and they would wax the floor with "KrebStar Industrial Floorwax". In other words, KrebStar was to Pete & Pete what Acme was to the Coyote and Road-Runner. There are countless other "Easter Eggs" to be seen in the show that require a keen eye and a sharp wit to pick up on. Trivia * Both Petes are left-handed. * Nona's dad, "Pop" is played by Iggy Pop, who often refers to the neighborhood kids as "stooges." * Nobody has ever been able to find a real, complete version of the song "Marmalade Cream," heard in several episodes including "A Hard Day's Pete." * There is one line of the theme song, "Hey Sandy," which is nearly indecipherable and therefore often misinterpreted. Members of Polaris refuse to disclose the real lyrics. * Filming was moved to Cranford, NJ after cast and crew made such a mess of South Orange during the filming of "Halloweenie" that the town opted not to have them back. * Pete & Pete includes cameo appearances by many contemporary alternative rock icons, such as: **Michael Stipe of R.E.M. (band) (Mr. Swirly in "What We Did on Our Summer Vacation") **Iggy Pop of The Stooges (Nona's Dad) **Debbie Harry of Blondie (band) (a neighbor in "New Year's Pete") **LL Cool J (Younger Pete's teacher in "Sickday") **Gordon Gano of The Violent Femmes (Older Pete's teacher in "X=Why?") **Kate Pierson of The B-52's (Blind woman in "What We Did on Our Summer Vacation") * All of the slushy flavors in "Field of Pete" are named after biblical characters. Examples are Lime Balthazar, Grape Judas, and dangerous Orange Lazarus. Episode guide Shorts # "What Would You Do For a Dollar?" # "Freeze Tag" # "The Launch" # "Mom's Plate" # "Pete-Less" # "Halloween" # "Revenge of the Petes" # "Pete's Theory" # "X-Mas Eve" # "X-Ray Man" # "The Burping Room" # "Artie, the Strongest Man... in the World!" # "The Punishment" # "Route 34" # "The Dot" # "The Big Race" Specials (Note: These episodes, while originally aired before the official run of the series, were modified to resemble regular episodes during the show's run with the addition of the opening credits.) # "Space, Geeks, and Johnny Unitas" — Older Pete and Ellen work on a science project to determine whether alien life exists on Earth, and make a new friend. Pete becomes obsessed with football hero Johnny Unitas and one life-changing play, while Ellen discovers that some things are best left unrevealed. # "What We Did On Our Summer Vacation" — The Petes, aided by Ellen, start a hunt for the elusive ice-cream man Mr. Tastee as the summer comes to a close. NOTE: the original (non-series) version of this episode had music done by REM, Baby Flamehead, Poi Dog Pondering, Ministry, Jody Grind, and Shackwacky. # "Apocalypse Pete" — The Petes' dad and Ellen's dad start a prank war, which helps younger Pete and his father get closer while tearing older Pete and Ellen apart. # "New Year's Pete" — Younger Pete reflects on a year in which he ultimately failed to achieve his New Year's resolution to change the world. # "Valentine's Day Massacre" — Older Pete and the school's stadium line painter (whose squid, the school mascot, Pete has just killed) vie for the love of the math teacher. The stadium line painter was played by Richard Edson. Season One #'"King of the Road"' — On a trip to the Hoover Dam, the Petes' father is determined to win the title of "King of the Road" from the reigning champions, but lengthy bathroom breaks and lack of family cohesion threaten his success. #'"Day of the Dot"' — When Ellen is selected to dot the "i" in "Squid" in the high school marching band competition, older Pete becomes jealous of her newfound closeness with her band partner. Meanwhile, younger Pete tries to stop an interminable bus ride by reuniting lovelorn bus driver Stu Benedict with his ex-girlfriend. #'"Nightcrawlers"' — Younger Pete and his friends aim to overcome the reign of the "international adult conspiracy" in deciding bedtimes by staying up for 11 nights and thus breaking the world record. #'"Tool and Die"' — Older Pete is put in shop class, much to his displeasure. His teacher assigns him to work on a mysterious "special project" with the bully Endless Mike. #'"Rangeboy"' — Embarassed to be working at his father's driving range, Older Pete hides his identity by dressing as the sort of bear that used to inhabit the area where the range is. Meanwhile, younger Pete and Artie are working on perfecting Artie's shot. #'"When Petes Collide"' — Pete and Pete fight each other to be the one to whom their father passes his apparently mystically-powered bowling ball, "Rolling Thunder". #'"Don't Tread on Pete"' — While older Pete engages in a struggle against time to study for a test on the American Revolutionary War (with the fear that failing would cause him to wind up like the school's janitor, rumored to have failed the same test years before), younger Pete leads his gym class to try to beat his teacher's intramural dodgeball team. #'"Hard Day's Pete"' — Younger Pete finds his favorite song (Polaris (band)- Summerbaby) being played by a band in a garage on his way to school. But later that day, all traces of the band have vanished, and so Pete starts his own band to try to find the song. Season Two #'"Grounded for Life"' — Younger Pete destroys Dad's lawn in an experiment gone awry, and is forced to tunnel his way out of the house past a state-of-the-art security system in order to make it to the celebrations for his favorite holiday, the 4th of July. Pete meets Nona Mecklenberg (Michelle Trachtenberg), whose father is played by rock star Iggy Pop. #'"Field of Pete"' — Older Pete's baseball team goes on a winning streak due to Younger Pete's incredible knack for making distracting comments. The coach's win-or-die attitude, a super-cold slushy drink called the Orange Lazarus, and Younger Pete's dirty tactics threaten to destroy baseball forever-- Older Pete is forced to make a choice between glory and the integrity of the sport he loves. #'"The Call"' — On the hottest day of the summer, Younger Pete decides to pick up an infamous payphone which has been ringing for years, while Older Pete decides to figure out who the call is for. #'"The Big Quiet"' — Younger Pete copes with the death of his pet lizard Gary while Older Pete struggles to improve his relationship with Dad in hopes of avoiding a lifetime of awkward conversations. #'"Time Tunnel"' — On the day that Daylight Savings Time ends in the fall Younger Pete and Older Pete celebrate the extra hour by taking advantage of the "Time Warp" to do something momentous. This year, however, Older Pete is overcome by hormones and asks Ellen out on an official date. He enlists the help of Endless Mike Hellstrom, his enemy, to help the date go smoothly. Mike lends Pete his customized Ford Mustang convertible and teaches him the nuances of dating. When things don't work out right, Older Pete is forced to utilize the power of the Time Warp to fix things with Ellen before their friendship is lost forever. #'"Halloweenie"' — Younger Pete decides to enter the annals of history by breaking the record for most houses visited on Halloween and tries to enlist the help of Older Pete. Older Pete is torn between his loyalty to his brother and the coming of age and abandonment of the childhood ritual of Trick-Or-Treating. He must decide whether to face the ridicule of his peers and go Trick-Or-Treating or to join the notorious "Pumpkin Eters", a group of vandals who terrorize neighborhood "Halloweenies." #'"Inspector 34"' — Younger Pete finds his guardian angel, Inspector 34, who inspects the Kreb o' the Loom underwear worn by the Wrigley's and their friends. Inspector 34 recruits Younger Pete to be an Inspector while Younger Pete shows him how to interact with normal people and have fun. Younger Pete struggles with perfection while Inspector 34 lets his hormones go to his head. The newfound perfection of Inspector 34 begins to infect the neighborhood, and people begin behaving erratically. Younger Pete must help everyone find a way to live in moderation between perfection and abnormality. #'"Farewell, My Little Viking" (Two Parts)' — The end of Artie's influence over Wellsville comes in two parts. Supervillain and head of the International Adult Conspiracy John McFlemp (James Rebhorn) concocts a dastardly plan to rid the parents of Wellsville of the nuisance that is Artie forever, and threatens to destroy all that is unique about the kids of Wellsville. McFlemp extorts Dad and convinces him to get rid of Artie. The Petes, Ellen, and Younger Pete's various friends start a campaign to find Artie, who disappears in Dad's car after a disheartening speech from Don (Dad). The campaign consists of a Bat-Signal-esque (see Batman) likeness of Artie's face, t-shirts, and various souvenir items. After Dad realizes his mistake and joins in the search, Artie is brought back to Wellsville, only to find Younger Pete standing up to Papercut all on his own, demonstrating the Artie's protective influence is no longer needed. #'"Sickday"' — Younger Pete decides to fake food poisoning in order to avoid another mind-numbing day at school during the stretch between winter and spring breaks. In an adventure that leads him from home to school and the various sites around Wellsville, Younger Pete sees a classmate of his in a new light, gets a marshmallow likeness of president Martin Van Buren stuck in his nose, and gains a new perspective on the world that can only be appreciated on a sick day. #'"Yellow Fever"' — Older Pete is stuck on a school bus departing for the deepest, darkest parts of the human psyche, as well as the creamed corn plant. During the bus ride, Pete befriends people he never thought he'd associate with, succumbs to the temptations of bullying, and is forced to cope with his actions and repent. #'"X = Why?"' — Ellen, fed up with math class, asks the question high school teachers dread most: "Why?" Her inquiry spreads like wildfire through the school and soon students are rebelling against the textbook knowledge forced upon them in every class. Ellen realizes that things have gone too far when math teacher Ms. Fingerwood disappears, and desperately tries to put things right. #'"On Golden Pete"' — The Wrigley family takes a fishing trip, and Older Pete contemplates mortality while Dad tries to catch a legendary fish named Bob. Pete tries to sabotage Dad's attempts to make the catch. Season Three #'"35 Hours"' — The Petes are entrusted with the key to the house while Mom and Dad go away on a trip for 2 days. Just when it looks like their plan to stage the ultimate bicycle race around the house is about to materialize, Older Pete is struck by hormones and instead chooses to vie for the attention of his latest crush. Younger Pete sells the house in retaliation to the nicest family ever, the Krechmars. Older Pete tries to set things right with his brother and they attempt to regain ownership of the house before Mom and Dad return. #'"The Trouble with Teddy"' — Older Pete offers to let his friend Teddy stay over while his parents are away, and Pete notices just how many annoying habits Teddy has. Younger Pete tries to get in touch with nature. #'"The Good, The Bad and The Lucky"' — Younger Pete's lucky penny runs out of luck one day, so he, Nona, Monica, and Wayne set out on a Journey to recharge it by letting the Midnight Express run over it. Pit Stain, Younger Pete's arch nemesis, catches on and tails them, and Pete is forced to battle Pit Stain without the power of his lucky penny. #'"Splashdown"' — Older Pete tries to obtain the coveted position of Senior Life Guard while Younger Pete fights to abolish the hated Adult Swim. Older Pete is forced to choose between the power of the life guard chair and his friendship with his brother. #'"Dance Fever"' — Younger Pete attends his first school dance and Older Pete is stricken by the lead singer of the hired band (Luscious Jackson). Pit Stain learns of Younger Pete's fear of dancing and tries to exploit it, and Nona tries to avoid the embarrassment of dancing with her "Pop," (Iggy Pop) who takes the stage and sings a song for her. #'"Crisis in the Love Zone"' — Spring fever hits Wellsville hard and everyone begins dropping like flies. Older Pete is smitten by a star member of the tennis team, and Ellen realizes her true feelings for him. Younger Pete falls for Eunice Puell, the mail lady, despite his most sincere efforts to avoid love through his mantra, "Love Bites." Nona is the last to go, finally falling for Younger Pete. The results of this immense love triangle build to a climax. #'"Last Laugh"' — Younger Pete cooks up his biggest April Fool's prank ever, while Principal Swinger (Adam West) enlists the help of Pit Stain to stop him. #'"Allnighter"' — Younger Pete, Monica, and Wayne get trapped in the school after it closes and are stuck for the night. They attempt to allude a fearsome school legend, who they are eventually forced to confront. #'"Road Warrior"' — Older Pete and his friends reach the age of responsibility and take driver's ed from Mr. Slurm, the shop teacher. #'"Pinned!"' — Older Pete tries to get a varsity letter and climb to the top of the social ladder the easy way by joining the wrestling team, and finds that individual sports are not a cakewalk. He trains for a confrontation at the big match with Endless Mike Hellstrom, and is coached by Ellen, a closet wrestling fan. #'"On Christmas Pete"' — Younger Pete prolongs Christmas for as long as possible after the holiday's end, in an attempt to keep the neighborhood in a constant aura of Yuletide Joy. His efforts are thwarted by a bitter garbageman who enjoys destroying Christmas trees. #'"Das Bus"' — Older Pete chooses to become schoolbus driver Stu Benedict's apprentice for the week to be near Penelope Ghiruto, while Ellen stocks vending machines. #'"Saturday"' — Older Pete, Ellen, Wayne, Monica, and Stu Benedict make their way through a typical Saturday in Wellsville. Older Pete gets a haircut, Wayne tries out his new sneakers, Monica becomes a ninja, Ellen serves pizza, and Stu battles an endless traffic signal. The last episode of The Adventures of Pete & Pete. External links * Jeremy Frens's fan site at Indiana University * Another fan site * [http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~jfrens/pete-and-pete/music.html Overview of Pete & Pete music], including lyrics of theme song "Hey Sandy" Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The